Tag Archives: development

2.5 Years Later – A follow up on my preemie baby’s development

June 12, 2018 Zoe

2.5 years ago, Harley came into the world in truly dramatic fashion. I was 32 weeks pregnant when I had seizures brought on by full-blown eclampsia. LIke, the thing after preeclampsia. An emergency c-section later, Harley was born, eight weeks premature.

I had never imagined that I would have a premature baby, and I knew absolutely nothing about it. A first-time mom, I was terrified of everything it could or would mean. I read all about possible complications, developmental hurdles or other issues. I wanted to be prepared.

It was terrifying. Eventually, I had to stop reading because I was so worried, upset and afraid of what the future MIGHT hold for Harley. Instead, I focused on doing what I could to get her through the time in the hospital. And then just surviving our early days and weeks.

Now, 2.5 years later, Harley is amazing, and you would never guess she was a prem baby. I thought I would share a bit about her, how she has surpassed all expectations and where she falls on her milestones. So, if you are just taking things day by day with your prem baby, I hope this helps you imagine a less terrifying version of what the future might hold with your preemie baby’s development. Continue Reading

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Comment Child Development, Premie

What is midline crossing, why it’s important and how to encourage it

August 23, 2016 Zoe

Until I started this parenting journey, I had no idea about midline crossing. I’d heard about it occasionally in other contexts, but I didn’t really understand what it was or why it mattered. I remember talking about it with my mom what feels like forever ago, when Harley first started at TopTots, and even though she has a degree in early childhood education, she was also pretty in the dark about it all. It’s relatively new research, so your parents, in-laws or even teachers might not be aware of it, but ask any occupational therapist about it, and they will rave about how important it is. So, here’s a bit about the whole midline business, and why it’s such a big deal, as well as some ways that I’m encouraging Harley to do it as much as possible.

First up, the what. The main one people talk about is crossing your left-right midline. Imagine a line drawn down the center of your body, dividing your left and right sides. Other midline crossing that is often encouraged is the front to back line, as well as the top to bottom line. For the first, imagine lying down and being sliced in half as if you were making a sandwich, while with the second imagine the typical way that a magician would pretend to slice an assistant in half. Okay, so now you know where the lines are, but why do they matter?

6 Comments Child Development, Geek, Parenting

Brain development early childhood development

Why boredom is important for babies and children (and adults)

August 2, 2016 Zoe

My mom and I still laugh at some bizarre stories from when I was a kid. Seemingly out of nowhere, I’d dress up in a silly outfit and come barging out of my room with the Chinese restaurant menu that was printed on a scroll singing “Bell horses!”. I remember doing it, I remember thinking it was such an obvious and fun thing to do. I don’t remember why I thought that. But somehow it was a way for me to entertain myself, to have fun and to play. I also remember reading, teaching a pretend class, building with LEGO, or my favorite for years – my parents would give me the big box when we’d get a major appliance and I would draw all over it with markers, climb inside with a flashlight and read or pretend I was in a cave or any other type of play. Considering all the research that keeps coming out, it’s one of the best things my mom did; she purposely left me and my brother unscheduled, allowing us to be bored.

Boredom is often the bane of parents’ existence. When kids are bored, they get into trouble, right? When kids are bored, they whine about it, and then you find them covered in paint or suspended between two pieces of furniture or whatever else. But it doesn’t have to be that way, and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. And the same goes for adults, so we can all use this important reminder. Continue Reading

4 Comments Parenting

Baby development early childhood development

Activities for baby development – making the most of car rides

July 27, 2016 Zoe

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a part of #CarseatFullstop – an initiative to raise awareness about car seats. It’s an awesome campaign and we hope that by boosting awareness we are able to save lives. But it also got me thinking about how much time we spend in the car every day. Most of us in car-centric cities spend a lot more time in our cars than we might like or be aware of. For example, every morning, Harley and I take Dean to work and then return home. In the afternoon, we pick him up again before returning home. Sometimes, we go shopping together, or go to a meeting, or go to TopTots, or visit friends or any number of activities. Each of those require strapping her into her car seat and sitting in the car for anywhere between five and 30 minutes. On an average day, that’s what – at least an hour spent in the car? Why not make the most of those trips by encouraging development in the car?

Luckily, Harley often sleeps in the car. It’s something about the movement and the noise that combines to conk her out like nothing else. In fact, when I went to an awesome seminar earlier this week, I timed it perfectly – changed her nappy, nursed her and then drove to the event. The combination of clean bum, full tummy and car ride combined to successfully knock her out for a couple hours so I could actually engage with the learning opportunity. But when our little ones are awake in the car, it can also be a learning opportunity, too. Here are some ideas of ways that you can make the most of the time spent with your spawnling in the car. Continue Reading

Comment Child Development, Geek, Parenting

Baby development early childhood development

How this mommy and baby class saved me and Harley

July 13, 2016 Zoe

With Harley now seven months old, I have enough distance from those early weeks and months to look back with some perspective. I’ve written about how traumatic her birth experience was, but even then I didn’t realize how traumatic it was and how hard it was going to make things with her. I was sick, she was so very premature, and we had quite a road ahead of us. I struggled to bond with her, I felt like everything was just so hard, and I was even resenting her. It was NOT good.

Luckily, while still pregnant, I had already decided that I wanted to try and find a nice mommy and baby class to attend once she was born. There are so many out there, so I wasn’t quite sure which one I’d go for. But I chatted to Geoff, my editor at Lazygamer, and his wife used to own a TOPTOTS franchise, so I decided to give them a whirl. It turns out, that was one of the best decisions I’ve made in the first six months of Harley’s life. Continue Reading

4 Comments Child Development, Parenting, South Africa, Sponsored

Baby baby girl Bonding